CCSO, dispatch sued for $25 million in officer involved shooting case

Two years after a man was shot by a Charleston County Sheriff's deputy during a home invasion call, the man's family is suing for 25 million dollars claiming gross negligence, battery, assault, and violating his civil rights.

The suit also claims civil conspiracy saying that CCSO officials misled the public through inaccurate statements made to the media.

The lawsuit says that then-26-year-old Bryant Heyward was left a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down, after CCSO Deputy Tyner shot him in the neck.

Attorneys say Heyward has since developed diabetes, suffered from sacral ulcers, and owes more than a million dollars in medical expenses.

Another witness, identified by the lawsuit as Heyward's grandmother, told 911 operatorsshe saw two black men ride away from the scene on bicycles.

According to the suit, a dispatcher told Heyward to get someplace safe and stay there but they also claim the dispatcher on the phone was not trained to communicate properly and the department has been understaffed for years.

When deputies arrived, they said Heyward came out and refused to drop his gun so one of them fired.

The lawsuit claims deputies Tyner and Powell "dragged" Heyward out of the laundry room despite his "traumatic spinal cord injury" from the gunshot.

CCSO officials said it took about 15 minutes for them to realize they had shot the wrong person.

The lawsuit also claims that in the ambulance ride to the hospital, a CCSO detective rode along to interview Heyward "under the guise of investigating the home burglary and attempting to secure a potential 'dying declaration.'"

"Detective Sharp's audio recorded interview of Plaintiff (Heyward), taken immediately after Plaintiff had been traumatically shot in the neck, had been recklessly pulled out of the home with a spinal cord injury, and had been rendered a quadriplegic, would be released to the public the following day by defendant CCSO as Plaintiff remained in the hospital in the Intensive Care Unit, on a respirator, and dying from his injuries," the suit reads.

Lawyers for Heyward claim CCSO tried to "create the purported perception" that Heyward had time to process the deputy's demands and should have dropped the gun when in actuality they say a body mic recording proves deputies "never once ordered Plaintiff to drop his weapon or mentioned a weapon at all."

Another claim in the suit alleges that Deputy Tyner lied on his report, saying Heyward came out pointing a gun resulting in the shooting and then said Heyward went back inside and closed the door. The suit says Tyner claims they pushed the back door open and found Heyward lying on the floor.

We are reaching out to Heyward's attorney as well as CCSO officials and will update this story as more information becomes available.